せんせい あいしてます

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zPtpRrpU-g

PSA: #YesAllwhitePeople (How To Be A white Ally)

Yes, all white people are racist.

When you say ‘all white people’ they rush to claim that is unfair because they are 'individuals;’ but this sense of individualism in and of itself is a privilege. Individualism is a facet of privilege.

Folks get MADT when you say #AllWhitePeople, even Black folks, because we’ve been trained to look at white ppl as 'individuals’ even tho they are conditioned to look at us as a group. white people are raised to believe they are unique, special snowflakes- individuals capable of achieving whatever they set their minds to- while Black people are raised to believe we are part of a monolithic group; one that at any minute can be seen as a threat so we must act accordingly so as to make everyone around us *comfortable.*

We do not have the privilege of individualism. So spare me your whining about *not all white people.*

Yes, all white people.

All white people are products of a racist, white supremacist system, and therefore are indoctrinated with racist, white supremacist teachings. Can racism be unlearned? I think, yes. But most white people DON’T unlearn it, because they can’t even admit they have a problem.

You can’t opt out of the system. You can’t opt out of your privilege. You can’t opt out of its benefits if you’re born with white skin.

And it’s funny how we understand this when we’re talking about other forms of pathology. We understand that people growing up in abusive households have higher chances of being impacted by abuse. We understand that soldiers coming back from violent war zones have higher chances of being affected by post traumatic stress disorder. We understand that people in certain environments will be psychologically impacted in certain ways.

But start talking about learned racism and, all of a sudden, everything we know about the human brain goes out the window because every white person is a unique special snowflake (with the magical mutant x abilities to not be influenced by their surroundings and the constant barrage of racist, white supremacist propaganda).

Dear white people: You are not omega level mutants able to control things with your mind. You are not Jean Gray. You have been born into this racist, sexist, capitalist, white supremacist society and from birth you have been imbued with its beliefs.

(And white people love bringing up their parents and their families and how every white parent had a perfect non-racist upbringing. Yeah, okay. Even if I believed that, which I don’t, you still watch tv and movies, you still read books, you still go to school, you still have to participate in society outside of the home and white supremacist ideology is EVERYWHERE.)

The most you can do is understand your privilege, use it to spread awareness, and WORK to unlearn your destructive, parasitic behavior. That’s how you white ally. And if you are not working to unlearn racism don’t speak to me.

The ONLY thing you should be saying to be is that you recognize that you were born into a racist, white supremacist system that imbued you with racist ideals from birth. That you recognize your racism, privilege, and inherent bias and are actively working to unlearn it.

#YESALLWHITEPEOPLE

This has been a Public Service Announcement.

Links:

'White Silence Kills 9 in Charleston:’
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/white-silence-kills-9-in-charleston-503#.VYR7tmCJndl